Janelle Saffin (Page, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

In my contribution to the address-in-reply to the Governor-General’s speech, I am going to focus on my seat of Page and outline a number of what I call ‘Page priorities’—a list that I have put together over the three years that I have been a member and something I have worked up in close consultation with my five local government areas, with a range of representative bodies in my area and with individuals. So it is a real community list of Page priorities. I always say to people that we can always lobby for them and some we will get and some we might not get but good ideas never go away and they find their time. That is the approach I take to working with, working up, advocating and advancing these priorities. Obviously, health is a big one and I will start with health.

Stages 3 and 4 of the Lismore Base Hospital redevelopment—the next stage of the development—will cost $155 million. That amount is broken into $90 million for stage 3 and $65 million for stage 4. There is a community health centre on Treelands Drive, Yamba. That would be at a cost of $3.5 million. These are indicative costs. There has been some sort of project brief done as well. Grafton Base Hospital, also in my electorate, would be stage 3. We have stage 1 and stage 2, and I am happy to report that I have been able to get money for both of those hospitals. They are underway, but stage 3 at Grafton Base Hospital would be about a $50 million package. It would involve a new surgical services unit and new emergency department, among other things. There are other projects in the community—I know there is Ballina District Hospital. One of the longer-term projects there would be an upgrade of the emergency department and surgical services. That would be a $25 million project. Iluka is a small, lovely village in my seat. The expansion of the Iluka Community Health Centre would be a $2 million project. Casino Aboriginal Medical Service, which covers a range of services in a broader area, would get an upgrade. They are looking to relocate to a stand-alone, purpose built Aboriginal Medical Service centre. That is a $4.7 million project.

There are some other projects. I will start in the Ballina Shire area. There would be the completion of the Ballina River Street Beautification Project, the Main Street beautification in Alstonville and, as they call it, the Ballina Lady Jockeys Racing Museum at the Ballina Racecourse. That is something the Ballina Jockey Club are very passionate about and are doing some work on in the community at the moment. There is also a biochar project that Ballina Shire Council is working on in conjunction with others. We are in conversation about that at the moment. It is a very good project that I see as a leader in that area. It could have good implications for our regional economy.

Richmond Valley Council, one of the other five local government areas, are working up the Queen Elizabeth Park redevelopment master plan with at least nine local sporting groups and widespread community support to enhance and develop a large multiuse sporting fields area. Other projects in the Richmond Valley area include two projects coordinated with the Richmond Valley Council who, with other people in the community, are keen on and working to advance. One is a gas pipeline in the area and another is intermodal freight rail. There is also the Northern Rivers military museum. I have had a look at an old hall in Casino with an ex-serviceman: the Richmond Valley general manager. They are gathering widespread support across the Northern Rivers area to look at a Northern Rivers military museum. In various RSLs and clubs that we have across my seat of Page you will find museum pieces, and I am sure that they will be keen to hang on to them. The idea was that they could look at having a Northern Rivers military museum so that there could be one key museum that could house a lot of this very important historical memorabilia.

Coraki, which is also in the Richmond Valley Council area, has projects identified including the multipurpose court for tennis and hockey at Windsor Park, the extension of the skate park facilities and the Coraki riverside park foreshores improvement program. In Evans Head, still in Richmond Valley, projects include the Stan Payne Oval improvements, the footpath bikeway program that gives connectivity between certain streets and Ocean Drive et cetera, and heritage work at the Evans Head Memorial Aerodrome.

I move on to the third local government area: the Clarence Valley. One of the projects identified there is the Grafton Regional Art Gallery, which in conjunction with Clarence Valley Council, Arts Northern Rivers, the Gallery Foundation and Friends of the Gallery, has widespread community support for an upgrade, a collection room and a range of other things to enhance it. There are also the saleyards at South Grafton—an area for which I got money before for an upgrade—for a continuing upgrade; a performance stage and dressing rooms at the Saraton Theatre; and a new Men’s Shed at the former Grafton brewery site. The old brewery site is an old historical landmark in Grafton, a great site, and they are doing some really good work there.

There is also a plan to build a second crossing over the Clarence River, and that is something that has been strongly promoted and pushed at state level. It is a key project. I will also mention Iluka, which has formed a local community-run committee to raise funds for a pool. That was done in Evans Head in my electorate. They worked for 17 years to raise funds for a pool. They were fortunate in that they were able to get some additional funding under the regional community infrastructure program. In that 17 years they had a lot of cake stalls and lamington drives to raise the money, so it was good to see that get up. Iluka has drawn its inspiration from what happened at Evans Head.

Kyogle council, another local government area in my seat, have a key project—the Kyogle Gallery and Museum project and library extension—put forward as the Kyogle Shire Council’s No. 1 priority works project. It is one of those projects that the whole community is behind. It has a local committee, led by Tom Fitzgerald, one of those great local people who get involved in all sorts of things. He is someone who talks the talk and walks the walk, because he gets out and does things. I have had the opportunity to work with Tom over many years—long before I came into this place—to get some good things happening in health and other areas. This key project will help enhance and develop the cultural precinct in Kyogle and add to the regional economy as well. A new Kyogle Youth Centre is dear to the people in the community and to the Kyogle council, as is restoration of the Kyogle Memorial hall and working with the local RSL.

There is also a project in a very beautiful place called Lawrence, which is on the river in the Clarence Valley. It is a small project but one that will make a big impact in that small community. It is for the restoration of Lawrence Hall, also known as the Lawrence Literary Institute. Part of the restoration is for the removal and replacement of the asbestos roof. That will go a long way to helping Lawrence Hall.

I now turn to the Lismore local government area. A project the residents there have long advocated is the Margaret Olley Arts Centre. Margaret Olley, who has allowed her name to be put to the arts centre, has links with our area. The project has the support of the Lismore City Council, Arts Northern Rivers, Regional Development Australia and the Northern Rivers industry investment district. There is widespread community support for the project. It is a strategic project that they would like to get up. The centre would be a purpose-built facility on the corner of Keen and Magellan streets and would include permanent and temporary exhibition space, a lecture theatrette, a collection and storage area, a reception area, a cafe and a gallery shop—all the things we now have in modern art galleries, which are more than art galleries; they become part and parcel of the cultural precinct.

Another priority in the local government area is a lift in the Lismore Regional Museum, which is about accessibility. The residents of the area would also like a second bridge over the Wilson River. There are a lot of places where people want a second bridge, and the Wilson River has been identified as an area where a second bridge is needed. Refurbishment at the Lismore City Hall is another priority. There are also a number of road projects, particularly the Ballina Road alignment and the Pineapple Road link between Ballina Road and Bangalow Road.

Other priorities in local government areas include the Nymboida Wilderness Rescue team at Nymboida and Coutts Crossing in Clarence Valley. They provide a really important community function but do not have a storage area. Their equipment is stored in bits and pieces at various people’s places, and they move it around as they go out and do key work in the community. They do share an overcrowded shed with the State Emergency Service at Coutts Crossing, but they are keen to have their own storage area.

For the village of Rappville, public infrastructure would allow them to upgrade the community hall and provide a playground and shade structure. For Wardell, a priority is the second stage of the Wardell master plan. The master plan was worked out between Ballina Shire Council and the Wardell community and Wardell businesses. The second stage would reinvigorate the Wardell town centre. The council has already provided money for the first stage and for the restoration, including the wharf, street lighting and shared pathways, which is wonderful. Wardell also has a great timber boardwalk. It is a historical village, and historical and cultural artwork would be included in the project.

In Woodburn, which is on the Pacific Highway between Grafton and Ballina—a stretch of the highway that is often talked about—there is a lovely visitor information centre, which is run by volunteers. They do a great job, particularly Joan Roots and her team. I know they would like to see the centre done up, but in Woodburn they also want to develop their native botanical garden, which is on the riverbank east of the town, and upgrade Riverside Park. Woodburn is certainly a lovely place to stop. The projects would not only beautify the area but also help the local economy.

A few other projects have come up as Page priorities. The Yamba Surf Life Saving Club needs a new storage shed at Turners Beach. You may not know that Yamba was voted as the ‘best kept secret’ in Australia. I think some of the people who live there would like to keep it like that, and I do not blame them. It is one of those places that people like to visit—very beautiful. It is a great surf lifesaving club, and a storage shed for the club is one of the projects that has been identified as a priority. Another priority for Yamba is some additional work at the sporting complex, particularly the Lower Clarence rugby league club and Yaegl Elders, which has community support.

Then there is Woodenbong. Woodenbong is in my electorate. It comes within the Kyogle shire and borders on the Tenterfield shire. My seat of Page also borders on the seat of New England. Woodenbong has long had a dream and it is hard to get attention, particularly as it is one of the smaller towns and villages in the area—a very vibrant one—and people want it for roads. It is a key link—

A division having been called in the House of Representatives—

In the few minutes I have left in the address-in-reply debate I will mention a few other projects. There are quite a few employment ones, covering a whole range of areas from community colleges to Southern Cross University. There are also some social inclusion ones, particularly with the Northern Rivers Social Development Council, and there is also the regional integrated transport plan, which is a big one that the entire community is committed to. As well, the community is working with colleagues over the border in South-East Queensland out into the Southern Downs area Scenic Rim and way beyond my seat. But that is what we need for a proper regional integrated transport plan and it has some legs. There have also been some advances made towards Infrastructure Australia in another area.

Another key issue that comes up is about the Clarence River. There are a lot of people who are continually talking about getting their hands on the water in the Clarence River, about diverting it or damming it. This has come up again in the context of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan and the debate about that. I have said in this place and I will keep saying to anybody who even thinks about it, dreams about it, talks about it, speculates about it or advances it: not a drop will go out of the Clarence River. It is just a nonsensical approach to dealing with a problem and it will create another problem. The Clarence Valley Council has put up a minute on it, and all of its members and the whole community are at one on that. While ever that debate goes on, I will keep restating: not a drop. We have bumper stickers for people’s cars that say ‘Not a drop’ and I will be giving out more of those.

In the few seconds I have left in this debate, I want to mention a meeting I had with Dr Harry Gibbs and Dr Matt Landos in my office the other day. One is a cardiologist and one is a vet. They have been doing a lot of good work in the community, looking at chemicals and at the body of science around the negative impacts of chemicals in our rivers affecting fishery production and also affecting human health. I had a very interesting conversation with them and they have given me information on some great research. They have set out a case for urgent reform of pesticide regulation in Australia, and I will have another opportunity to talk about that.

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